Huge win for car owners! All TSBs to be made public.
The Center for Auto Safety just made the NHTSA (US Government) make public the full text of all TSBs from now on. They are the same organization that has petitioned the NHTSA & filed lawsuits to protect car owners over exploding gas tanks & other major safety issues.
Whenever you drive in your car, you are safer thanks in part to a lot of work over the years by this small but very effective consumer advocacy group.

NHTSA — Steering Problems

CarComplaints.com Notes: The Cobalt was introduced to replace two of Chevy’s smaller cars, the Cavalier and Prizm. But the compact’s fresh start that Chevy was hoping for was riddled with issues, most notably widespread power steering failure.

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2005 Chevrolet Cobalt Owner Comments (Page 44 of 51)

Cobalt

80,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

2005 Chevy Cobalt, power steering randomly goes out in my vehicle while driving. I can turn the car off and when I restart usually it is fixed but light comes on and steering goes out without warning. This seems very dangerous, fortunately haven't wrecked yet. Cost to fix about $2,000. Looked up on internet and about 400 other comments and complaints on 1 website regarding same problem. Sounds like recall should be issued!

Cobalt

70,000 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 65 mph, the power steering failed and the vehicle shook. The vehicle has not been to the dealer for diagnostic testing. The contact feels that the vehicle is unsafe to drive because the loss of power steering and the shaking could cause a crash. The current mileage was 74,950 and failure mileage was 70,000.

Cobalt

71,717 miles

The steering wheel locked up in the car and the dic/ instrument panel displayed 'power steering'. the steering system shutdown completely with no prior warning of any kind. This happened in the middle of a very busy intersection and I was unable to steer the car in any manner. This is a safety issue that poses risks and threat of property damage, severe injury or death to the car owner, other car drivers on the road, others cars on the road, pedestrians and other building structures. This could happen again at any given time. Research indicates that this safety issue progressively increases. Repair requires the replacement of the steering column, pscm (power steering control module) and power steering motor unit estimated to cost upto $2000. Research on the internet also indicates a number of customers whose vehicles have electric power steering (as this car does) as opposed to conventional hydraulic steering systems have experienced this issue. GM has issued the following communication on this topic, but this particular bulletin does not refer to owners of 2005 Cobalt car model. Bulletin gmp07-217 - 07126 special coverage adjustment message #:vsu20071643 special coverage adjustment #07126 dated: December 3, 2007 since this is a serious safety issue resulting from a manufacturing defect, I am requesting that Chevrolet reimburse me or pay for the cost of repair even though my car is past the standard manufacturers warranty period.

Cobalt

51,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

The problem I am reporting is with my 2005 Chevy Cobalt ls. The power steering quit working suddenly with no warning. This failure happened while driving down a major road and cause all power steering to go out. Once the car is shut off it starts working again, but each time the mean time between failures decreases. The failure happens so often now that I can't drive the car. The steering column has to be replaced now since GM does not sell individual parts.

Cobalt

83,000 miles

I was driving down the high and all of a sudden my power steering came on and has been for 2 months now. I have looked up the issue and I am not the only owner of Cobalt to have these problems. I have the 2005 Cobalt ss supercharged wit 84,000 miles on it.

Cobalt

73,000 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 60 mph, the steering locked up and the contact was forced to pull the vehicle over. The vehicle was towed and is unable to be driven. There were no prior failures with the steering. The dealer stated that it would cost $2,000 to repair the steering. The electrical system was also defective and will not activate the air conditioning or lock the doors. The VIN was unknown. The current and failure mileages were 73,000.

Cobalt

50,000 miles

A D V E R T I S E M E N T S

I have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt that I bought new in 05. At about 50K miles, the power steering would occasionally stop working and the car was incredibly hard to steer. This happened randomly, sometimes driving straight, sometimes turning. I had a few near collisions when it failed mid-turn. After finding out the replacement part was close to $1000 from Chevy, I found a suitable donor car and salvaged the electric power steering unit. I swapped it out and have had no problems in the 15K miles since. I still have the failed power steering unit available for inspection.

Cobalt

37,500 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact stated that the power steering constantly failed. Once the vehicle was started, the steering would become stiff within one minute. She was unable to maneuver the steering wheel without applying maximum force. The manufacturer would not assist with the repairs because there were no recalls. The VIN was unknown. The failure and current mileages were less than 37,500.

Cobalt

20,000 miles

2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. Power steering fails at all speeds. Impossible to steer the car. Could definitely cause collisions at high speeds. Should be a recall. GM is unwilling saying they do not have enough complaints. Someone is going to get hurt.

Cobalt

85,156 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving various speeds, the power steering activates and the steering wheel becomes difficult to turn. The failure has occurred three times. Through online research, the contact discovered many consumers who were experiencing the same failure. The vehicle must be shut off and restarted in order to deactivate the power steering. The dealer stated that they will charge $109 just to diagnose the vehicle. The vehicle has not yet been repaired. The failure and current mileages were 85,156.

Cobalt

Cobalt

65,000 miles

I have been having problems with my 2005 Chevy Cobalt it can be working fine and then suddenly the power system shuts of and my steering wheel gets really hard impossible to turn. It has been increasing in time every time we use the car.

Cobalt

66,000 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. While driving 45 mph, the power steering light illuminated on the instrument panel. The electronic power steering failed when attempting to make a turn and almost caused a crash. It took great effort for the contact to complete the turn. The current and failure mileages were 66,000.

Cobalt

Automatic transmission

34,950 miles

The contact owns a 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt. The contact took the vehicle to the dealer because he heard a noise coming from the steering column. The dealer stated that a new steering column was needed. There were no warning lights illuminated on the instrument panel at the time of the failure. The current and failure mileages were 34,950. Updated 05/27/09 an ignition switch was needed as well. Updated 05/29/09

Cobalt

37,500 miles

I have a 2005 Cobalt ls and the power steering goes out now within 5 minutes of driving the car. I use to be able to turn the car off and it would correct the problem, but now turning off the car doesn't correct the problem. I know what part needs to be replaced, but no one sells just that part, they want to try to sell you a whole steering column for $1500 or more. I think it is disgraceful that GM is asking for bail out money, but they will not recall this model of car to fix the problem. I cannot afford to go to a GM dealership and pay to have this problem fixed. I am not responsible for paying for this it is GM's responsibility! GM wouldn't be in financial trouble if they built cars that didn't have problems or if the cars they built that had problems they took responsibility for fixing them. I don't think I can trust GM anymore. Eventually someone is going to get seriously hurt or worse.

Cobalt

31,000 miles

Have a 2005 Chevy Cobalt and on four separate occasions, the power steering has gone out on vehicle. Almost impossible to drive. After getting it off the road and shutting off engine and restarting, worked ok. Took to dealership for them to check, they could find nothing wrong and said they had no history of this type of problem. This is a very dangerous situation and could results in death or injury. GM has tsbs out there, which of course is customer pay, and they will correct GM defective issues. The cost is approx. $800. There have been enough complaints on this issue since 2005. A GM recall should be made mandatory. This is major safety factor. A recall by GM should be directed.

Cobalt

40,000 miles

The power steering goes in and out intermittently. There is no warning. Particularity turning curves and corners. The dash board warning systems warns of this after the fact and you're in panic mode. When you shut down and restart it performs normally for a while and does it again. Also, when going around curves or making 90 degree turns, the steering "slips" and bumps as if you've run over something. Its as if the joints of the car aren't fitted together property.

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